US President Joe Biden’s administration is considering further restrictions on China’s access to chip technology used for artificial intelligence (AI), targeting new hardware that is only now making its way into the market, people familiar with the matter said.
The measures being discussed would limit China’s ability to use a cutting-edge chip architecture known as gate all-around (GAA), which is supposed to make semiconductors more powerful and is currently being introduced by chipmakers, the people said.
It is unclear when officials would make a final decision, the people said, adding that they are still determining the scope of a potential rule.
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The US’ goal is to make it harder for China to assemble the sophisticated computing systems needed to build and operate AI models, and to cordon off still-nascent technology before it is commercialized, they said.
Companies such as Nvidia Corp, Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc — along with manufacturing partners Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co — are looking to start mass-producing semiconductors with the GAA design within the next year.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees export controls, declined to comment.
The bureau recently sent a draft GAA rule to what is known as a technical advisory committee, some of the people said.
The panel is composed of industry experts and offers advice on specific technical parameters — a final step in the regulatory process.
However, the rule is not yet finalized, after industry officials criticized the first version as overly broad, the people said.
One person familiar with the matter said the measures would not go as far as an outright ban on GAA chip exports, but instead focus on the technology needed to make them.
There are also early-stage discussions about limiting exports of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, some of the people said.
HBM semiconductors, made by SK Hynix Inc, Micron Technology Inc and others, speed up access to memory, helping bolster AI accelerators. They are used to train AI software — a process that involves bombarding models with information.
It is unclear whether a rule on HBM chips could come together, the people said, adding that the GAA conversation is further along.
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